June quarter performance not sustainable: SCI

State-run Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) today said its impressive performance in the June quarter, which led to murmurs of a turnaround in the ailing company, will not be sustainable in the future.
"We do not think that the June-end quarter performance will be sustainable in this quarter," its chairman and managing director A K Gupta told shareholders at 65th annual general meeting (AGM) here.
He identified the tanker market as one of the better performing verticals, but said the company is struggling in other segments like dry bulk due to compressed freight rates, and container due to a dip in exim trade.

"As the huge number of ships get delivered, the freight rates will still continue to decline. We expect testing times in this segment to prevail," he said, referring to the dry bulk segment.
It can be noted that after three full years of posting losses, the company posted a profit of Rs 163.54 crore in the June quarter this fiscal.
After the meeting, Gupta declined to elaborate on reasons which led to the healthy profits. He was asked if the profit is improving in the operational parameters or other factors.

He said for the tanker segment, the things to watch out for is a meeting of oil producing countries towards the end of the year and lifting of sanctions against Iran.

However, he added that none of these factors will play out before December and the tanker market will behave broadly in the same way.
The fall in crude prices benefits the company through lower bunkering or fuel costs, he said, adding that in FY15, it saved Rs 285 crore on such benefits.
The company is preparing a Vision 2030 document and has already hired a consultant for the same, he said.
The company's shares today shed 5.44 per cent to close at Rs 73.85 apiece on the BSE, as against a 2.07 per cent correction in the benchmark Sensex.